The father of an abducted U.S. child said he spent 10 years pressing
authorities to find the girl and her mother.

Meanwhile, the child was living a normal life in Costa Rica attending school with the belief that her father was some kind of
sexual predator. Her mother led a normal life, too, as a teacher of
English, even though she shared the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation's 10 most wanted list with the likes of Osama Bin Laden.

The mother's location in Heredia was well-known to U.S. Embassy workers
since at least February of 2002, but the father did not learn until
June that his former girlfriend had been located.

The father, Roger Cyprian, outlined his search by telephone Tuesday. He
hired private investigators until he ran out of money. He was asked to
pay $40,000 by an expat in Costa Rica who would kidnap the child. He
spent months tracking a false lead to Canada.

Cyprian of Fort Worth, Texas, was in Costa Rica last week when agents
of the International Police Agency detained the woman, Chere Lyn
Tomayko. She was wanted on a U.S. federal indictment alleging the
parental kidnapping of her daughter, Alexandria Camille Cyprian in May
1997.

Most of all, Cyprian, a registered nurse and physician's assistant in
Texas, was surprised by the A.M. Costa Rica story where it was
disclosed that U.S. Embassy officials learned the whereabouts of the
fugitive woman in February 2002. It appears now that local statements
to the contrary, the FBI was never notified and embassy workers kept
the woman's location a secret from law enforcement.

Cyprian said he worked closely since 2000 with two male FBI agents, and
one eventually was successful in getting the woman's wanted poster
promoted to the 10 most wanted category. U.S. Embassy officials had
said incorrectly five years ago that the FBI agent in Texas in charge
of
the case was a woman.

Cyprian had joint custody of Alexandria when he said he found Ms.
Tomayko's apartment emptied one day. They were not married but the
couple lived together for seven years, he said. Ms. Tomayko
has an older daughter by a previous relationship. She is Chandler, who
was just 11 months old when the pair became a couple. Chandler, now 20,
appears to have moved with her mother to Costa Rica.

Ms Tomayko also has two other daughters, 4 and 6, both born here from a
relationship with a Costa Rican professional, said Cyprian. A child was
with her when she was detained a week ago, agents said.

Cyprian said he followed a series of address changes that became a dead
end in a Canadian mail drop. Not until he received a call from a man in
Costa Rica about 1999 who said he knew where to find his daughter and
her mother did this country enter the picture. Eventually the man
wanted $40,000 to abduct the child but an FBI agent talked Cyprian out
of doing that, he said. Since then the focus has been on Costa Rica.

Cyprian confirmed that the FBI was interested in an underground network
that would spirit women who said they were abused to a new location
despite existing court decisions. In his own case, he said that Ms.
Tomayko alleged physical abuse and then sexual abuse. He denied those
allegations and noted that a Texas judge awarded him joint custody and
allowed unsupervised visitations.

In 2002 Cyprian said he and his present wife attended a high-level
Washington, D.C., meeting with State Department officials along with
other victims of child abductions.

That was about the time that A.M. Costa Rica printed a small story with
photographs saying that
Ms. Tomayko was suspected of being in Costa

Roger Cyprian in happier times, with his ex-
girlfriend's daughter Chandler and his daughter, Alexandria.

Rica. The next day Heredia
residents reported that she was teaching English in a school there and
asked a reporter to inform the embassy.

An embassy spokesman said the case was sensitive and asked the editor
to delay publishing a followup story. The newspaper complied with that
request for six months.

Cyprian said he was hot when he learned from the news story Friday that
embassy workers knew for at least five years where the woman was.
Earlier some embassy workers reported to Texas law officers that Ms.
Tomayko had left the country every 90 days or so to renew her tourism
visa, but that immigration records were so disorganized they could not
tell if she had returned, he said.

There was no record of the kidnapped girl, he added.

The A.M. Costa Rica article said that it appears that embassy workers
protected Ms. Tomayko until Alexandria Cyprian turned 18 in July. The
news story suggested that the embassy employees might have been more
sensitive to Ms. Tomayko's plight because she is white and Cyprian is
black. He said the FBI agent on the case did not think so, but he said
that embassy workers might have swallowed the claim of sexual abuse.

The case still is a federal felony, and Ms. Tomayko is being held for
an extradition investigation. Cyprian said that he was told immigration
is not involved in the case even though Ms. Tomayko probably is illegal
in the country. An embassy worker told him it was not a U.S.
responsibility to enlighten local immigration officials, he said.

Ms. Tomayko probably was living on family money while here, the former
boyfriend said.

"Unfortunately when I left Costa Rica, Alexandria would not speak to me
or allow me to see her," said Cyprian of his now adult daughter. "Nor
was I given any contact information for Alex. She had been
supplied
with 10 years of misinformation about me from Ms. Tomayko, and I
believe if she is allowed to read just a little of the other side of
the story, it might make a difference in her life.

"While Alexandria is an illegal alien in Costa Rica, and I could try to
get her deported, I can't see taking Alex away from her two little
sisters, ages 4 and 6, that she has bonded with in your country.
This
would be no less of a crime then that Ms. Tomayko has committed by
taking Alex away from me and her sister here in the States 10 years ago.

"Likewise, I have married since this abduction, and Alex has two
brothers and another sister (that looks a lot like her) here in the
States. I would like Alex to want to come visit us or at the
least
allow me to establish some communication between us so that we can
redevelop that father daughter relationship we once had."

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Getting a visa for the United States always has been a sore point for
Costa Ricans. And then the U.S. government said that travelers needed a
visa even if they were just changing planes in the United States. This
was an anti-terrorism change.

Now the U.S. Embassy in Pavas says that visa approvals are running
about five weeks. The embassy issued a press release Tuesday
encouraging Costa Ricans to get their visa early, particularly those
for December and January.

The embassy said that the delays were the result of a temporary
shortage of staff. The press release said that the consular staff hopes
to cut into this backlog by getting more people for more U.S. citizens
to arrive into the country. The vice consuls are all U.S. citizens.
They decide after a brief interview if the applicant will get a visa.

To get the appointment for the visa, Costa Ricans have to pay $14. They
also have to bring a slip showing a $100 deposit to the visa interview.
If they are rejected, the U.S. government still keeps the money.
Non-U.S. citizens can find visa information at the embassy Web site.

Guilty verdict in Burgos trial,
but ex-girlfriend gets no time

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The nation's version of court TV has ended with convictions of both a
public defender and a former prosecutor.

This is the Mauren Hidalgo Mora murder case. She was an employee of the
courts who vanished July 11, 2006. Her body later was found near
Atenas,
and the next day investigators arrested her husband.

He is Luis Fernando Burgos. A three-judge panel gave him 35 years
Tuesday after a two-month trial.

Zulay Rojas Sánchez, the fired prosecutor, was convicted of
failing to tell authorities after Burgos confessed the murder to her.
She is an ex-girlfriend, and the trial shed light on the romantic
activities of the workers in the court system.

Although she got two years, she does not go to prison. She faces what
amounts to a suspended sentence for five years.

There was no clear evidence of the guilt of Burgos, but the three-judge
panel spoke at length of the supposed domestic violence to which Burgos
subjected his wife of a year.

The judges also accepted the testimony of other persons who said Burgos
asked them to help him get rid of the body.

In a dramatic moment last week, Ms. Rojas stood and confronted Burgos
and told him that she knew he killed his wife. Evidence showed that the
pair were in contact by telephone and e-mails after the death of the
wife.

Ms. Rojas had gone to a hospital during part of the trial and told
judges that she was afraid of her ex-boyfriend.

Burgos had reported his wife as missing and said she had gone out with
a large amount of money to purchase a car. He blamed a gang of car
thieves.

The judges, Ana Patricia Araya, Linda Casas and María de los
Ángeles Arana, said that Ms. Hidalgo died a cruel death as
Burgos strangled her. The body was believed to have remained in the
couple's apartment for two days.

Still unknown is how the body was moved to where it was dumped near a
road in Atenas.

Burgos also was sentenced to pay his wife's family $136 million colons
(about $261,500) as compensation for the death in the parallel civil
action. An appeal by Burgos is likely.

The judges also publicly chastised Ms. Rojas for bringing shame on the
Ministerio Público, the nation's prosecutorial arm.

The murder case had almost daily coverage on the San José
television stations and the reading of the sentence at 4 p.m. Tuesday
was covered live and dominated the later news shows.

Man presumed drunk kills
former companion in Cóbano

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A man who appeared to be intoxicated broke into a Cóbano home
early Tuesday, shot and killed his former female companion, shot three
other persons and then commited suicide.

The shootings took place in full view of the woman's 4-year-old
boy and 6-year-old girl. Dead is Wendy Godoy García, 23,
who was living with relatives in the Los Mangos section of the
town on the Nicoya Peninsula.

The presumed agressor was Francisco Burgos Moraga, 28, according to the
Judicial Investigating Organization.

Also shot was the mother of the dead woman, Rosa García Brenes;
her stepfather, José Alex González Jiménez, and
her sister, Jennifer.

Gap bridged in tourist route

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The public works ministry says it has bridged a gap in the highway
between Tilarán and Nuevo Arenal with a temporary span. For
nearly a month the road has been cut due to runoff damage. There
was no adequate detour. Bus passengers had to walk alongside the empty
space to continue their trip.

The route is along the northeast shore of Lake Arenal and is a major
tourism route.

Cartago institute to host kids

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Sunday is sports day at the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica
in Cartago. A group of sporting organizations plans competitions
for kids from 2 to 14 years, and organizers say that no training or
special skills are necessary.

The purpose of the activity is to introduce youngsters to the dicipline
of sports. Sponsors include the Asociación Deportiva Row, the
Comité Cantonal de Deportes y Recreación de Cartago and
the Asociación de Deportes.

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There's no need for a quick trip to the supermarket or to curtail your party activities at the end of next week.

The Oct. 7 referendum on the free trade treaty will not be covered by
the ley seca, the dry law that closes down bars and seals up liquor
shelves in the local market.

Partisan elections do take place under provisions of the dry law, and
every four years the presidential elections take place on Superbowl
Sunday, greatly impeding the celebratory instincts of expats.

The Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones confirmed Tuesday that expats can
drink until they drop, Oct. 7, although the civilized spokeswoman did
not use those exact words.

Under the normal rules the dry law goes into effect one

day before and
until the end of the day after a national election. By that time expats
have really worked up a thirst. Costa Ricans sidestep the problem by
the proliferation of unlicensed neighborhood guaro bars. There also are
dry laws, also sidestepped nimbly, that take effect during Holy Week.

Many tourism destinations also have clever ways of ducking the dry
laws. For example, alcohol is sometimes served in paper cups and
perhaps the local law enforcement receives a gratuity.

In the case of the referendum, the new law that established the right
for Costa Ricans to go to the polls on issues of national importance
simply did not mention a dry period. So the tribunal, which has supreme
authority during this period, cannot enforce one.

In fact, either the no faction or central government leaders are going
to need a stiff one after the results come in.

A ministry of health worker does a checkup on the Bagaces dump.

Instituto de Fomento y Apoyo Municipal photo

Growth includes garbage, and Guanacaste is facing a crisis

By Dennis RogersSpecial to a.M. Costa Rica

Rapid coastal development in Guanacaste continues without adequate
infrastructure, and solid waste is no exception. All the coastal
municipalities are in a state of crisis over disposal, according to
Edmundo Abellán of the Instituto de Fomento y Apoyo Municipal,
the government municipal oversight agency.

Of the 11 Guanacaste municipalities, only the four with no coastal
development are in control of their solid waste situation. Bagaces,
Cañas, Tilarán, and Abangares have joined together for a
landfill near the town of Cañas. It is approved by the relevant
environmental authorities and should be under construction soon.

Elsewhere the situation ranges from difficult to dire, according to
Abellán. Pickup by the municipalities is in most cases limited
to the main towns. Liberia, for example, covers only the town of the
same name, with coastal areas not served. Liberia’s open dump was
closed by court order two years ago, but a project to rehabilitate it
as a proper landfill has been approved and is awaiting permits.
Abellán said the compacted volcanic ash above the town has very
low permeability and is ideal for a landfill.

Liberia has relatively little coastline but does include the important
Papagayo development. Erica Underwood of Papagayo Services Generales,
managers of the concession, said the development has its own recycling
and composting operation with residuals going to the Carrillo dump.

The dump still operating to receive garbage from the coastal areas
between Santa Rosa National Park and Tamarindo is known as La Pampa,
near the town of Filadelfia. For about four years it was run by WPP
International, the company that operates the Cartago and Alajuela
landfills, and until it recently closed, Rio Azul near San José.

WPP was never able to get permits and apparently never even submitted
an environmental impact statement to make La Pampa a regional landfill.
In 2006 management returned to the municipality of Carrillo where it is
located. The ministerio of Salud has ordered it closed, but given the
lack of alternatives for Carrillo and Santa Cruz, it remains open.

The Carrillo coastal zone, which includes Playa Panama, Playas del
Coco, and others, is served but with a truck purchased in 2006 by the
local tourism operators. They claimed to be producing 200 tons per
month, in July 2006, during a special session of the Carrillo council
dedicated to the question of WPP’s future at La Pampa. This would
presumably include some construction debris, which is not accepted by
most municipalities.

Santa Cruz is home to Tamarindo, where explosive development is
overwhelming infrastructure including roads and water supply as well as
garbage pickup. Municipal service does not reach the coast, so private
pickup services have sprouted. Santa Cruz has no project on the horizon
and will be linked to what Carrillo does, said Abellán. As the
largest town on the Nicoya peninsula, Santa Cruz produces about 35 tons
of garbage per weekday.

Further south, Nicoya has an open dump also condemned by the ministry of health. The municipality includes the

What they do with garbage

La Cruz
15 tons per day
Open dump, condemned

Liberia
40 tons per day
Dump closed, landfill program underway

Carrillo
25 tons per day
Controlled dump, condemned

Santa Cruz
35 tons per day
No operating site

Nicoya
30 tons per day
Open dump, condemned

Hojancha
15 tons per day
Controlled dump

Nandayure

10 tons per day
Open dump, replacement project underway.

Source: Instituto de Fomento y Apoyo Municipal

important beach towns of Sámara and Nosara and does provide pickup
service there. Nicoya has no option available when its dump is closed.

Two other small municipalities have coastline as well.

Hojancha includes the important beach town of Carrillo, but provides no
service outside the small county seat. Nandayure includes some coast
presently with little development. Near the town of Carmona, a landfill
program has financing and is in the process of site selection. Abellán
suggested this may be a possible location for a regional landfill
serving Nicoya, Hojancha, and the districts of Puntarenas that make up
the remainder of the southern part of the peninsula.

The other coastal canton, La Cruz on the Nicaraguan border, also has
its small open dump which has been condemned. There is relatively
little development on its portion of the coastline, much of which is in
Guanacaste National Park. Most of the coastal zone has been given in
concession (including an attempt to lease the national police school)
and likely won’t stay undeveloped.

In general, the Instituto de Fomento y Apoyo Municipal hopes to form
more regional conglomerations like at Cañas, as even the larger towns
like Nicoya and Santa Cruz cannot muster the resources to properly
operate a landfill. Many municipalities around the country have
resorted to rental compactor trucks. Those still with their own dumps
also must rent the small bulldozers needed, as onerous procurement
requirements mean parts cannot be quickly obtained in the event of a
breakdown.

The United States is providing funding for the labor provisions of its
free-trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic.

The State Department's Michael Puccetti said that the U.S. commitment
to free trade, as embodied in the Central America-Dominican Republic
Free Trade Act, includes ensuring "that the benefits of free trade are
enjoyed by workers and their families."

Puccetti, the U.S. deputy coordinator for the Summit of the Americas,
said the Dominican Republic and the Central American nations generally
have good labor laws that conform with international standards but that
the laws need to be enforced.

U.S. support for protecting labor rights in the free trade treaty will
help the Central American region be more competitive internationally by
giving workers more training and employers more avenues for satisfying
labor disputes, he said.

U.S. funds help to build bridges among employers, labor groups and
government that will protect workers in the region, Puccetti
said. The funds, consisting of $40 million a year from 2005 to
2009, are usually provided as grants to non-governmental organizations.

Contributors include the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor, which provides for a three-year program to enhance a
business practice called corporate social responsibility. Under
this principle, progressive companies recognize they should contribute
to the broader public good and treat their employees, at a minimum,
with dignity and respect.

The funds also are backing rural development, and environmental
projects in the Central American region for such activities as
protecting biodiversity and promoting conservation.

President George Bush signed the trade treaty in August 2005, saying
that the agreement would help the signatory countries attract the trade
and investment needed for economic growth.

In addition to the United States and the Dominican Republic, the other
signatories are Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and
Honduras. All those countries have ratified the trade pact except
Costa Rica, which votes in a referendum Oct. 7.

Costa Rican supporters of the treaty say the trade pact will give the
country's exports, particularly such commodities as bananas and
pineapples, permanent access to U.S. markets.

However, opponents in Costa Rica contend that the trade pact not only
will fail to generate employment, but also

threatens many thousands of service,
agriculture and manufacturing jobs in that country.

At least 40 percent of the country's registered voters must take part
in the referendum for the results to be binding. A negative vote
would
kill the measure.

Treaty critics in the United States argue that enforcement of labor
laws in Central America needs more attention and resources.

For instance, a leading critic in the U.S. Congress, U.S. Rep. Sander
Levin, a Democrat of Michigan, said when voting against the measure in
2005 that the trade pact did not have the "basic legal framework in
place to protect the rights of workers."

"Trade has to be expanded in the right way" and the treaty "is exactly
the wrong way. It doesn't protect the rights of workers overseas,
and
it encourages a race to the bottom in wages," said Levin, chairman of
the House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Trade.

A Levin spokeswoman said Tuesday that the congressman remains opposed
to the treaty. However, Levin supports another trade bill now
before
the U.S. Congress, the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement, because of its
strong standards protecting labor and the environment, said the
spokeswoman.

Central American treaty supporters say the pact specifically is
designed to improve labor law enforcement through a strategy that
includes a dispute settlement system and possible stiff fines if a
country does not effectively enforce its labor laws.

Susan Schwab, the U.S. trade representative, said in a Feb. 5 letter to
Congress that U.S. support for labor, environmental and rural
assistance initiatives in the Central American region is a crucial
factor to ensure the long-term success of the treaty.

The U.S. funds include a new 24-month, $2 million grant for labor
rights projects in the Central American trade treaty countries.
The
grant, announced Sept. 13, aims to raise awareness and understanding
among workers of their rights under current labor laws and how to claim
them.

In addition, the grant aims to help worker and employer organizations
learn more about compliance issues, and brings in civil society
organizations to protect workers' rights. The grant will be
administered through the Trust for the Americas, which is affiliated
with the Organization of American States.

José Miguel Insulza, the organization's secretary-general,
said Sept.
13 that the U.S. grant will ensure that the Central American region
provides greater levels of compliance with labor laws and more job
training for workers while helping businesses to be more rigorous in
their labor practices.

Ortega
critical of U.S. for questioning nuclear programs of other nations

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has lashed out at the United States
for criticizing Iran and North Korea for their nuclear programs.

At the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, Ortega asked what right
the United States has to question a country that is seeking nuclear
development for peaceful — or even military — purposes.

He said the United States not only possesses the greatest nuclear
arsenal in the world, but is the only country to use nuclear weapons on
civilians — in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during
World War II.

The Nicaraguan leader said the best
path for humanity is for nuclear
weapons not to exist, and he called on the United States to take the
first step in nuclear disarmament.

Since taking office in January, Ortega has strengthened Nicaragua's
ties with countries critical of the United States such as Iran, North
Korea and Venezuela. He also has accused the U.S. of supporting
opposition groups to undermine his leftist government.

Ortega has a long history of opposing the United States. His
Soviet-backed Sandinista guerrilla movement swept the U.S.- backed
Anastasio Somoza from power in 1979. The U.S. countered by supporting
what were known as Contra rebels to try to oust Ortega.

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where those seeking international news will see it

The semi-final round of the Women's World Cup soccer tournament
concludes Thursday in Hangzhou, China, with Brazil seeking its first
title at the event. But the heavily favored United States is
standing in the way of the South American team.

Three months ago near New York, the teams met in a very physical
friendly game that the United States won, 2-0. The Americans also
prevailed in their two previous Women's World Cup meetings and
dominated in three Olympic tournament games against Brazil.

Because of the schedule and a brief disruption by a typhoon, the U.S.
women received one more day of rest before their semi-final.

Brazilian coach Jorge Barcellos knows that fact, coupled with the
U.S.A.'s deep talent, will make the game difficult for his team.

"America is a top team, the same as Brazil," Barcellos said. "They also
have the most favorite players. The only difference is because of the
typhoon, we rested one day less than the Americans. You know, 24 hours
is very important for the football players."

Beyond the extra rest day, U.S. coach Greg Ryan hopes the referee calls early fouls on the physical Brazilians.

"Hopefully the referees will protect us better than they have so far in
this tournament," Ryan said. "But I think that is going to be a very
important key to this game. Whether or not the referee is going to
caution players from bad challenges from behind, from multiple
challenges from the same player. And if they do, I think Brazil will
have to find a different tactic to stop us. Because right now, their
primary tactic has been through fouling."

The United States is ranked No. 1 in the world. Brazil is the
lowest-ranked semi-finalist at No. 8. The Women's World Cup champion game will be in Shanghai Sept. 30.

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